T bar hanger clip



June 19, 1962 J. K. HOVlND 3,039,571

T BAR HANGER CLIP Filed June 13, 1957 INVENTOR.

- cally regulated enclosures.

ire Silatfig This invention relates to ceiling construction, and more particularly to a hanger clip for use in suspending a celling a predetermined distance from a roof deck, perma nent ceiling or the like.

The hanger clip of the invention permits the direct suspension of T bars to metal, or other type of roof decks, and eliminates the need for costly carrying channels as heretofore often used in suspended ceiling arrangements. The subject clip is especially well suited for use in perforated metal pan ceiling constructions, used in acousti- In addition to convenience and reliability in use, the clip of the invention may be fabricated from a minimum amount of metal, thereby contributing to low cost suspended ceiling installations.

The main object of the invention is to provide a hanger clip for use in suspending a ceiling a predetermined distance from a roof deck.-

Another object of the invention is-to provide a ceiling hanger clip which eliminates the need for costly carrying channels.

A further object of the'invention is to provide a T bar hanger clip which is especially well suited for use in perforated metal pan ceiling constructions.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a T bar hanger clip which is convenient and reliable in use, and which may be fabricated from a minimum amount of metal thereby contributing to low cost suspended ceiling installations.

These and further objects and features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a section view of a suspended ceiling construction utilizing a hanger clip of the invention and showing a lower portion thereof;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of said hanger clip prior to permanent securing of a T bar;

FIG. 3 is the same but after permanent securing of a T bar;

FIG. 4 is a broken side view of said clip;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the lower portion of said clip as seen from line 5--5 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lower portion of said clip;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the lower portion of a modified clip of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a section view as seen from line 8-8 in FIG. 7.

Referring now to the drawing, an embodiment of a hanger clip of the invention is formed of a single flat piece of metal strap, preferably steel, having a vertical hanger portion 11 including a plurality of slotted holes 12, and an integral clip portion 13 formed at the lower end of the hanger portion. The hanger portion 11 may have a 90 bent section 14 at the upper end for affixing the hanger clip to a roof deck (not shown). Each edge of the hanger portion may be bent as at 15, for stiffening purposes.

The clip portion 13 is bifurcated to form and suspend a pair of oppositely extending horizontal ears 16 arranged at 90 to the hanger portion 11, said ears being bent downwardly to form vertical locking portions 17, each including a guide part 17a and a tab part 17b, with guide parts 17a being arranged parallel to each other for guiding the longitudinal edges of the supported member. A slot 18 is provided at the junction of each ear 16 and locking portion 17, forming a free upper horizontal edge As best seen in FIG. 2, the locking portions 17 lie inv parallel planes which are'disposed at an angle to the. plane of the hanger portion 11; when tab parts 17b of thelocking portions are bent into locking condition as seen in FIG. 3, it will be noted that the tab parts are bent toward hanger portion 11 into a common vertical plane normal to the guide parts about axes X lying in said plane, thereby being in direct opposition. Thus the supported member, in this case a metal T bar 19 having parallel opposite longitudinal edges 19: (FIG. 1) lying normal. to said plane and fiat marginal undersides 19b engagedby upper edges of tab parts 171), will be'gripped at directly opposite points along its length. This engage-- ment between upperedges 17c of bent tab :parts 17b and undersides 19b of T bar 19 provides firm support for the T bar by utilizing the shear strength of the junctures3be- Moreover, the

tween tab parts 17b and guide parts 17a. arrangement of bent tab parts 17b in a common plane normal to the longitudinal edges 19a of T bar 196111111- inates the transmission of any twisting momentto orfrom hanger portion 11, thereby facilitating ease of installation of T bar 19 and also securely lockingthe T bar in proper position.

The T bar 19 has a grip portion formed by oppositely,

curved channels 21 extending along thelower edge, adapted to receive a grooved channel 22 of the perforated metal;

ceiling pans 23, the latter of which contains sound absorbing material 24. The T bar channels 21, due to the resiliency of the material of the T bar, provides a snap action arrangement which securely maintains the grooved channel ends 22 of the pans 23 in snug engagement.

The application of the T bar hanger clip is extremely simple; the hanger portion 11 is first bent to provide desired distance of the suspended ceiling from the roof deck, and the bent section 14 is then fastened to the deck by fastening means, such as screws (not shown), passed through one or more of the holes 12. After a sufficient number of hanger clips are thus secured, a T bar is brought into engagement with the underside of the clip portion 13 (FIG. 2), and the tab parts 17b of locking portions 17 are bent inwardly (FIG. 3) to engage the underside of the T bar edge. The T bar is thus supported along its length by the hanger clips, with the bent tab parts 17b gripping the T bar on directly opposite sides to lock the T bar securely in position. The pans 23, with suitable sound absorbing material 24, are then forced into position with the T bar channels 21 engaging the grooved channels 22 of the pans, as best seen in FIG. 1.

A modified hanger clip, shown in FIG. 7, utilizes an upper hanger portion 26 having a preformed bent portion (not shown) similar to a bent section 14, at the upper end, and a lower hanger portion 27 secured to the hanger portion by means of one or more lugs 28 which extend through slotted holes 12, and are bent over as best seen in FIG. 8. In lieu of the lugs 28, fastening means such as bolts (not shown) may be used. In such manner, the upper hanger 26 may be of standard length, with a prebent upper roof attaching portion 14 and a standard clip portion 13; adjustment of hanger clip length may thus be easily achieved by placing the lugs 28 in the appropriate holes 12. The clip portion 13, forming part of the lower hanger 27, is identical in every respect with the clip portion 13, described in connection with the first embodiment.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the PatentedJune .19, 1962.

hanger clip of the invention clearly satisfies the objectives of the invention set forth hereinbefore.

The foregoing description has been given in detail without thought of limitation since the inventive principles involved are capable of assuming other physical embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hanger clip for supporting a member having parallel opposite longitudinal edges and fiat marginal undersides, a pair of vertical fiat locking portions each including a guide part and a tab part, each of said tab parts having a free horizontal upper edge, and means suspending said locking portions in spaced relationship With said guide parts being arranged parallel to each other for guiding said longitudinal edges of said member, said tab parts being bent inwardly about vertical axes lying in a common plane normal to said guide parts for engaging said upper edges of said tab parts with said undersides of said member to support said member by utilizing the shear strength of the junctures between said tab parts and guide parts.

2. In a hanger clip for supporting a member having parallel opposite longitudinal edges and flat marginal undersides, a pair of vertical flat locking portions each including a guide part and a tab part, each of said tab parts having a free horizontal upper edge, a pair of oppositely disposed fiat lateral ears bent downwardly at their outer ends to form and space said locking portions with saidguide parts being arranged parallel to each other for guiding said longitudinal edges of said member, and means suspending said ears at their inner ends, said ears and locking portions being provided with slots at their junctures to form said upper edges of said tab parts, said tab parts being bent inwardly about vertical axes lying in a common plane normal to said guide parts for engaging said upper edges of said tab parts with said undersides of said member and for supporting said member by utilizing the shear strength of the junctures between said tab parts and guide parts.

3. In a hanger clip for supporting a member having parallel opposite longitudinal edges and flat marginal undersides, a pair of vertical flat locking portions each including a guide part and a tab part, each of said tab parts having a free horizontal upper edge, a pair of oppositely disposed flat horizontal ears bent downwardly at their outer ends to form and space said locking portions with said guide parts being arranged parallel to each other for guiding said longitudinal edges of said member, and a fiat vertical hanger portion bifurcated at its lower end to form and suspend said ears at their inner ends, said ears and locking portions being provided with slots at their junctures to form said upper edges of said tab parts, said tab parts being bent inwardly substantially into a common plane normal to said guide parts about vertical axes lying in said plane for engaging said upper edges of said tab parts with said undersides of said member and for supporting said member by utilizing the shear strength of the junctures between said tab parts and guide parts.

References (Iited in the file of this patent Great Britain May 12, 

